CFRAM Studies

Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Studies and their product – Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs) – are at the core of the national policy for flood risk management and the strategy for its implementation.

The aim of the CFRAM Studies is to:

assess flood risk, through the identification of flood hazard areas and the associated impacts of flooding;

identify viable structural and non-structural measures and options for managing the flood risks for localised high-risk areas and within the catchment as a whole; and

prepare a strategic Flood Risk Management Plan (FRMP) and associated Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) that sets out the measures and policies that should be pursued to achieve the most cost effective and sustainable management of flood risk.

The methodology featured in each CFRAM Study includes the collection of survey data, and the assembly and analysis of meteorological, hydrological and tidal data, which will be used to develop a suite of hydraulic computer models. Flood maps are one of the main outputs of the study and are the way in which the model results are communicated to each of the end users. The studies will then assess a range of potential options to manage the flood risk, and determine, if there are viable options, which is preferred for each area and will be recommended for implementation within the Flood Risk Management Plans.

The CFRAM Studies will focus on areas where the risk is understood to be most significant.